Karyotype instability in the ponerine ant genus Diacamma

The queenless ponerine ant Diacamma ceylonense and a population of Diacamma from the Nilgiri hills which we refer to as `nilgiri', exhibit interesting similarities as well as dissimilarities. Molecular phylogenetic study of these morphologically almost similar taxa has shown that D ceylonense is closely related to `nilgiri' and indicates that `nilgiri' is a recent diversion in the Diacamma phylogenetic tree. However, there is a striking behavioural difference in the way reproductive monopoly is maintained by the respective gamergates (mated egg laying workers), and there is evidence that they are genetically differentiated, suggesting a lack of gene flow To develop a better understanding of the mechanism involved in speciation of Diacamma, we have analysed karyotypes of D. ceylonense and `nilgiri' In both, we found surprising inter-individual and intra-individual karyotypic mosaicism. The observed numerical variability, both at intra-individual and inter-individual levels, does not appear to have hampered the sustainability of the chromosomal diversity in each population under study Since the related D. indicum, displays no such intra-individual or inter-Individual variability whatsoever under identical experimental conditions, these results are unlikely to he artifacts. Although no known mechanisms can account for the observed karyotypic variability of this nature, we believe that the present findings on the ants under study would provide opportunities for exciting new discoveries concerning the origin, maintenance and significance of intra-individual and inter-individual karyotypic mosaicism.

A sufficient criterion for Rayleigh-Taylor instability of incompressible viscous three-layer flow

Using normal mode analysis Rayleigh-Taylor instability is investigated for three-layer viscous stratified incompressible steady flow, when the top 3rd and bottom 1st layers extend up to infinity, the middle layer has a small thickness δ. The wave Reynolds number in the middle layer is assumed to be sufficiently small. A dispersion relation (a seventh degree polynomial in wave frequency ω) valid up to the order of the maximal value of all possible Kj (j less-than-or-equals, slant 0, K is the wave number) in each coefficient of the polynomial is obtained. A sufficient condition for instability is found out for the first time, pursuing a medium wavelength analysis. It depends on ratios (α and β) of the coefficients of viscosity, the thickness of the middle layer δ, surface tension ratio T and wave number K. This is a new analytical criterion for Rayleigh-Taylor instability of three-layer fluids. It recovers the results of the corresponding problem for two-layer fluids. Among the results obtained, it is observed that taking the coefficients of viscosity of 2nd and 3rd layers same can inhibit the effect of surface tension completely. For large wave number K, the thickness of the middle layer should be correspondingly small to keep the domain of dependence of the threshold wave number Kc constant for fixed α, β and T.

LIN28B, LIN28A, KISS1, and KISS1R in idiopathic central precocious puberty

Abstract Background Pubertal timing is a strongly heritable trait, but no single puberty gene has been identified. Thus, the genetic background of idiopathic central precocious puberty (ICPP) is poorly understood. Overall, the genetic modulation of pubertal onset most likely arises from the additive effect of multiple genes, but also monogenic causes of ICPP probably exist, as cases of familial ICPP have been reported. Mutations in KISS1 and KISSR, coding for kisspeptin and its receptor, involved in GnRH secretion and puberty onset, have been suggested causative for monogenic ICPP. Variation in LIN28B was associated with timing of puberty in genome-wide association (GWA) studies. LIN28B is a human ortholog of the gene that controls, through microRNAs, developmental timing in C. elegans. In addition, Lin28a transgenic mice manifest the puberty phenotypes identified in the human GWAS. Thus, both LIN28B and LIN28A may have a role in pubertal development and are good candidate genes for monogenic ICPP. Methods Thirty girls with ICPP were included in the study. ICPP was defined by pubertal onset before 8 yrs of age, and a pubertal LH response to GnRH testing. The coding regions of LIN28B, LIN28A, KISS1, and KISS1R were sequenced. The missense change in LIN28B was also screened in 132 control subjects. Results No rare variants were detected in KISS1 or KISS1R in the 30 subjects with ICPP. In LIN28B, one missense change, His199Arg, was found in one subject with ICPP. However, this variant was also detected in one of the 132 controls. No variation in LIN28A was found. Conclusions We did not find any evidence that mutations in LIN28B or LIN28A would underlie ICPP. In addition, we confirmed that mutations in KISS1 and KISS1R are not a common cause for ICPP.

A sufficient criterion for Kelvin–Helmholtz instability in the magnetopause boundary‐layer region

The Kelvin–Helmholtz instability has been investigated for the magnetopause boundary‐layer region by the linearized method. The plasma in magnetosheath and magnetopause is assumed to be semi‐infinitely extended homogeneous, nondissipative, and incompressible. It is observed that, if one relation of two plasma speeds on the two sides of the magnetopause, wave number, and boundary‐layer thickness exceeds a certain threshold, the instability sets in. This new analytically sufficient criterion for excitation of instability in the three‐layer plasma flow generalizes the corresponding Chandrasekhar’s instability criterion for two‐layer plasma flow. The known results have been recovered and modified, the new results have been discovered. It is proved that the velocity threshold for the onset of instability is low when the magnitude of the magnetosheath and boundary‐layer region magnetic field and the angle between them are small. Also the threshold depends on the direction of plasma flow. The following results are observed numerically. The growth of the instability is sensitive to the magnetic field direction in the magnetosheath. A slight variation in the magnetic field direction in the second region can substantially change the relative velocity threshold for instability. When the ratio of the density of the second and third layer (magnetosphere) increases or that of the first and third layer decreases, the threshold decreases. Apart from this a necessary criterion for instability is obtained for a particular case.

Magnetorotational instability driven dynamos at low magnetic Prandtl numbers

Numerical simulations of the magnetorotational instability (MRI) with zero initial net flux in a non-stratified isothermal cubic domain are used to demonstrate the importance of magnetic boundary conditions. In fully periodic systems the level of turbulence generated by the MRI strongly decreases as the magnetic Prandtl number (Pm), which is the ratio of kinematic viscosity and magnetic diffusion, is decreased. No MRI or dynamo action below Pm=1 is found, agreeing with earlier investigations. Using vertical field conditions, which allow magnetic helicity fluxes out of the system, the MRI is found to be excited in the range 0.1

Microstructural features of flow instability in α-titanium cylinders under high strain rate compression at 25°C to 400°C

Cylindrical specimens of commercial pure titanium have been compressed at strain rates in the range of 0.1 to 100 s-1 and temperatures in the range of 25-degrees-C to 400-degrees-C. At strain rates of 10 and 100 s-1, the specimens exhibited adiabatic shear bands. At lower strain rates, the material deformed in an inhomogeneous fashion. These material-related instabilities are examined in the light of the ''phenomenological model'' and the ''dynamic materials mode.'' It is found that the regime of adiabatic shear band formation is predicted by the phenomenological model, while the dynamic materials model is able to predict the inhomogeneous deformation zone. The criterion based on power partitioning is competent to predict the variations within the inhomogeneous deformation zone.

Parametric instability of stochastic columns

Columns which have stochastically distributed Young's modulus and mass density and are subjected to deterministic periodic axial loadings are considered. The general case of a column supported on a Winkler elastic foundation of random stiffness and also on discrete elastic supports which are also random is considered. Material property fluctuations are modeled as independent one-dimensional univariate homogeneous real random fields in space. In addition to autocorrelation functions or their equivalent power spectral density functions, the input random fields are characterized by scale of fluctuations or variance functions for their second order properties. The foundation stiffness coefficient and the stiffnesses of discrete elastic supports are treated to constitute independent random variables. The system equations of boundary frequencies are obtained using Bolotin's method for deterministic systems. Stochastic FEM is used to obtain the discrete system with random as well as periodic coefficients. Statistical properties of boundary frequencies are derived in terms of input parameter statistics. A complete covariance structure is obtained. The equations developed are illustrated using a numerical example employing a practical correlation structure.

Dependence of the large-scale vortex instability on latitude, stratification and domain size

In an earlier study, we reported on the excitation of large-scale vortices in Cartesian hydrodynamical convection models subject to rapid enough rotation. In that study, the conditions for the onset of the instability were investigated in terms of the Reynolds (Re) and Coriolis (Co) numbers in models located at the stellar North pole. In this study, we extend our investigation to varying domain sizes, increasing stratification, and place the box at different latitudes. The effect of the increasing box size is to increase the sizes of the generated structures, so that the principal vortex always fills roughly half of the computational domain. The instability becomes stronger in the sense that the temperature anomaly and change in the radial velocity are observed to be enhanced. The model with the smallest box size is found to be stable against the instability, suggesting that a sufficient scale separation between the convective eddies and the scale of the domain is required for the instability to work. The instability can be seen upto the colatitude of 30 degrees, above which value the flow becomes dominated by other types of mean flows. The instability can also be seen in a model with larger stratification. Unlike the weakly stratified cases, the temperature anomaly caused by the vortex structures is seen to depend on depth.

Snapthrough instability of a stochastic a von Mises truss

A von Mises truss with stochastically varying material properties is investigated for snapthrough instability. The variability of the snap-through load is calculated analytically as a function of the material property variability represented as a stochastic process. The bounds are established which are independent of the knowledge of the complete description of correlation structure which is seldom possible using the experimental data. Two processes are considered to represent the material property variability and the results are presented graphically. Ein von Mises Fachwerk mit stochastisch verteilten Materialeigenschaften wird bezüglich der Durchschlagsinstabilität untersucht. Die Spannbreite der Durchschlagslast wird analytisch als Funktion der Spannbreite der Materialeigenschaften berechnet, die stochastisch verteilt angenommen werden. Eine explizite Gesamtbeschreibung der Struktur ist bei Benutzung experimenteller Daten selten möglich. Deshalb werden Grenzen für die Durchschlagskraft entwickelt, die von der Kenntnis dieser Gesamtbeschreibung unabhängig sind. Zwei Grenzfälle werden betrachtet, um die Spannbreite der Materialeigenschaften darzustellen. Die Ergebnisse werden grafisch dargestellt.

Instability and dewetting of ultrathin solid viscoelastic films on homogeneous and heterogeneous substrates

Instability and dewetting engendered by the van der Waals force in soft thin (<100 nm) linear viscoelastic solid (e. g., elastomeric gel) films on uniform and patterned surfaces are explored. Linear stability analysis shows that, although the elasticity of the film controls the onset of instability and the corresponding critical wavelength, the dominant length-scale remains invariant with the elastic modulus of the film. The unstable modes are found to be long-wave, for which a nonlinear long-wave analysis and simulations are performed to uncover the dynamics and morphology of dewetting. The stored elastic energy slows down the temporal growth of instability significantly. The simulations also show that a thermodynamically stable film with zero-frequency elasticity can be made unstable in the presence of physico-chemical defects on the substrate and can follow an entirely different pathway with far fewer holes as compared to the viscous films. Further, the elastic restoring force can retard the growth of a depression adjacent to the hole-rim and thus suppress the formation of satellite holes bordering the primary holes. These findings are in contrast to the dewetting of viscoelastic liquid films where nonzero frequency elasticity accelerates the film rupture and promotes the secondary instabilities. Thus, the zero-frequency elasticity can play a major role in imposing a better-defined long-range order to the dewetted structures by arresting the secondary instabilities. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. doi: 10.1063/1.3554748]

Dynamic analysis of voltage instability in AC-DC systems

This paper presents the analysis and study of voltage collapse at any converter bus in A C-DC systems considering the dynamics of DC system. The problem of voltage instability is acute when HVDC links are connected to weak AC systems, the strength determined by short circuit ratio (SCR) at the converter bus. The converter control strategies are important in determining voltage instability. Small signal analysis is used to identify critical modes and evaluate the effect of AC system strength and control parameters. A sample two-terminal DC system is studied and the results compared with those obtained from static analysis. Also, the results obtained from small signal analysis are validated with nonlinear simulation.

Optimization of cold and warm workability in 304 stainless steel using instability maps

The deformation characteristics of stainless steel type AISI 3O4 under compression in the temperature range 20 degrees C to 600 degrees C and strain-rate range 0.001 to 100 s(-1) have been studied with a view to characterizing the flow instabilities occurring in the microstructure. At strain rates less than 5 s(-1), 304 stainless steel exhibits flow localization, whereas dynamic strain aging occurs at intermediate temperatures and below 0.5 s(-1). At room temperatures and strain rates less than 10 s(-1), martensite formation is observed. To avoid the preceding microstructural instabilities, cold and warm working should be carried out at strain rates greater than 5 s(-1). The continuum criterion, developed on the basis of the principles of maximum rate of entropy production and separability of the dissipation function, predicts accurately all the preceding instability features.

Optimization of cold and warm workability in stainless steel type AISI 316L using instability maps

The deformation characteristics of stainless steel type AISI 316L under compression in the temperature range 20 to 600 degrees C and strain rate range 0.001 to 100 s(-1) have been studied with a view to characterizing the flow instabilities occurring in the microstructure. At temperatures lower than 100 degrees C and strain rates higher than 0.1 s(-1), 316L stainless steel exhibits flow localization whereas dynamic strain aging (DSA) occurs at intermediate temperatures and below 1 s(-1). To avoid the above flow instabilities, cold working should be carried out at strain rates less than 0.1 s(-1). Warm working of stainless steel type AISI 316L may be done in the temperature and strain rate regime of: 300 to 400 degrees C and 0.001 s(-1) 300 to 450 degrees C and 0.01 s(-1): 450 to 600 degrees C and 0.1 s(-1); 500 degrees C and 1 s(-1) since these regions are free from flow instabilities like DSA and flow localization. The continuum criterion, developed on the basis of the principles of maximum rate of entropy production and separability of the dissipation function, predicts accurately all the above instability features.

Instability, intermittency, and multiscaling in discrete growth models of kinetic roughening

We show by numerical simulations that discretized versions of commonly studied continuum nonlinear growth equations (such as the Kardar-Parisi-Zhangequation and the Lai-Das Sarma-Villain equation) and related atomistic models of epitaxial growth have a generic instability in which isolated pillars (or grooves) on an otherwise flat interface grow in time when their height (or depth) exceeds a critical value. Depending on the details of the model, the instability found in the discretized version may or may not be present in the truly continuum growth equation, indicating that the behavior of discretized nonlinear growth equations may be very different from that of their continuum counterparts. This instability can be controlled either by the introduction of higher-order nonlinear terms with appropriate coefficients or by restricting the growth of pillars (or grooves) by other means. A number of such ''controlled instability'' models are studied by simulation. For appropriate choice of the parameters used for controlling the instability, these models exhibit intermittent behavior, characterized by multiexponent scaling of height fluctuations, over the time interval during which the instability is active. The behavior found in this regime is very similar to the ''turbulent'' behavior observed in recent simulations of several one- and two-dimensional atomistic models of epitaxial growth.

Instability map for cold and warm working of as-cast 304 stainless steel

The deformation characteristics of as-cast 304 stainless steel under compression in the temperature range 20-600 degrees C and strain rate range 0.001-100 s(-1) have been studied with a view to characterizing the flow instabilities occurring in the microstructure. Ar strain rates of less than 0.05 s(-1), as-cast 304 stainless steel exhibits flow localization in the temperature range 20-600 degrees C, whereas dynamic strain ageing occurs at intermediate temperatures and below 5 s(-1). At room temperatures and strain rates of less than 0.05 s(-1), martensite formation is observed. To avoid the above microstructural instabilities warm working should be carried out at strain rates greater than 10 s(-1) in the temperature range 400-600 degrees C and cold working could be done in the range of about 0.05-0.8 s(-1). The continuum criterion developed on the basis of the principles of maximum rate of entropy production and separability of the dissipation function, predicts accurately all of the above instability features. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.